"For some of these guys, it's the second time around, for some of these guys, it's the third or fourth time around," Kubiel said of the commissioners' repeated failed attempts to build a new downtown firehouse.

Voters rejected the firehouse proposal by a margin 554 to 306 in Saturday's special election. Approval of the plan would have given the Board of Fire Commissions authority to build a new firehouse on the municipal parking lot on Irons Street.

Flooding in downtown Toms River near Toms River Fire Co. 2, on Oct. 30, 2012, the day after superstorm Sandy. The fire department building can be seen on the right.(Photo: Sherlon Christie)

The fire commissioners had argued that it would be cheaper in the long run to build a new, 33,000-square-foot firehouse than to continue spending thousands of dollars annually on maintenance at Toms River fire companies 1 and 2.

If the ballot question had passed, residents of fire district 1 could have expected fire taxes to rise by $26 to $40 a year, Kubiel has said. District 1 includes the area covered by fire companies 1 and 2, as well as the East Dover and Ocean Beach fire companies.

Toms River fire companies 1 and 2 have buildings located about one-tenth of a mile apart in the downtown. Fire Co. 1's Robbins Street firehouse is 104 years old, while company 2's West Water Street building is 95 years old and located in a flood plain.

Toms River Fire Co. 1 is located on Robbins Street in downtown Toms River.(Photo: Jean Mikle)

"It did become politicized," Kubiel, who is also a township councilman, said of Saturday's vote.

Justin D. Lamb, a GOP candidate attempting to unseat Councilwoman Maria Maruca in the June 6 Republican primary, was strongly opposed to the $14 million firehouse plan, and rallied residents to vote against it.

Lamb referred to the proposal as "the downtown firehouse tax increase," and said volunteers supporting his campaign made more than 500 phone calls to residents urging them to vote "no."

"The taxpayers stood together and spoke loudly," Lamb wrote on his campaign's Facebook page following the vote. "If the fire company needed a firehouse, a real comprehensive and fiscally responsible plan should have been presented."

Toms River Fire Co. 2 is located on West Water Street in downtown Toms River. The building was flooded during superstorm Sandy in 2012.(Photo: Jean Mikle)

Christopher Grimes, a political newcomer who is also challenging Maruca in the GOP primary, also opposed the firehouse ballot question, although he did not mobilize opposition to the ballot measure like Lamb did.

The District 1 Board of Fire Commissioners has been attempting to consolidate its operations downtown and build a new headquarters for many years.

In December 2011, voters in district 1 rejected the commissioners' plan to spend $1 million on land for a new fire headquarters that would have been located at the corner of Hooper and Hadley avenues.